CARLTON'S first-round draftee Kane Lucas is poised to make his AFL debut against Richmond on Thursday night.

Lucas pushed his case in a sharp, 30-minute session at Visy Park on Wednesday morning.

"If it doesn't happen this week it will certainly happen the next week or the week after," assistant coach Brett Montgomery said.

"He's a good kid, a smart kid and he knows the game of footy. Every time we've put him out against AFL opposition he's looked up to the class."

Experienced recruits Brock McLean, Lachie Henderson and Robbie Warnock will certainly play their first games in navy blue while Jarrad Waite and Marc Murphy removed any lingering doubts over their fitness with strong performances.

Henderson, in particular, looms as a key figure as the club embarks on the post-Brendan Fevola era.

Montgomery was again asked the question that has followed Carlton coaches all summer - where the goals will come from.

"The best answer to that is, 'We don't exactly know'," he said.

"But what we do know is we're a lot less predictable. We think we can get a more even spread than we've ever had here before which we know … is very hard to defend.

"That single-mindedness to go to one guy has been good for us, but in many ways it's actually hurt us at times.

"In the past we did rely on one very good player who took up a lot of room and a lot of ball, so the guys who played around him - we don't really know how good they actually could be and we're about to find out."

Chris Judd, who will miss the first three rounds through suspension, was on the track working out with four trainers well before his teammates emerged, then completed the full session and will also take part in a 'top-up' workout for players outside the AFL squad later in the day.

"He's managing it the only way he knows how and that's to work harder than ever before," Montgomery said of the captain's disappointment at missing out.

"We're excited about his return as you'd imagine."

Kade Simpson, Andrew Carrazzo, who will play his 100th AFL game, or Michael Jamison will lead the side in Judd's absence.

Coach Brett Ratten has worked to install a harder defensive edge to Carlton's approach this year and Montgomery said the pressure of a premiership game against an arch-rival in front of a big crowd at the MCG would be the perfect test.

"I don't think you really know until you get out there, [but] we certainly couldn't have put any more work into all aspects of our game," he said.

"We're quite confident with the style that we're playing. It suits our playing list and it suits what the AFL demands these days.

"A lot of the focus has been on us kicking more goals, but we need to take goals out of the game as well. There's many parts to the game that we've worked on, not just trying to manufacture the odd goal or two.

"We've been given the first game of the year, we're excited by that and can't wait to play it."